THE GUARDIANS OF HAPPINESS

"And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it....but if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell." (Numbers 33:53, 55)

Israel's conquest of the promised land was gradual and involved the takeover of specific cities rather than a broad swath of land. As their power to control and their ambitions shifted over the next generation, the territory of the tribes was in constant flux through the time period called "The Judges" (Lesson 19, "The Reign of the Judges", Meridian Magazine). In conquering the promised land, the Israelites made a grave mistake of not adhering to the Lord's directive 100%. Not only did they not follow the Lord's instructions with exactness to subdue the land thus ridding it of idol worshipers, they failed to conquer more than twenty cities that were on Joshua's itinerary. This failure to properly take possession of the land of their fathers cost the children of Israel dearly.  Because of this disobedience they failed to provide a spiritually conducive environment for their children who were not yet strong enough to resist the lure of false gods. Because of the bad choices of their fathers, the next generation of Israelites not only fell into bondage several times but continuously turned to idol worshiping: 

"And there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

"And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger" (Judges 2:10,12)

This story stands as a classic example of bad parenting. Parents being entrusted with the spiritual welfare of their children have the responsibility of being guardians of their happiness, the only true happiness that comes from being obedient to one true and living God. Israelites of old failed to provide a safe environment for their children whereby they could continue to worship the God of Israel who would have granted them peace and plenty in the land he had promised them. 

When Joshua and the leaders of Israel who served under him died, the national spirit of Israel died with them. Tribal loyalty replaced national unity and each tribe began to look to its own resources integrating themselves into the Canaanite culture and lifestyle (Old Testament Student Manual p. 251,252). Thus Israelites' story comes to be one of continuous cycle of apostasy and repentance. In times of peace and plenty they would turn to worshiping Canaanite gods and turn only to the God of Israel as the last resort when deliverance from oppression could not be obtained any other way. Suffering under oppression and war, the people would cry to God and He in his unfailing mercy would raise a leader to deliver them (Judges 4:1-3, 6:1,6, 10:6,10, 13:1). His mercy in dealing with the House of Israel is extraordinary to say the least, His eagerness to bring them back to Him by doing for them what no dumb idol could do is spectacular. This can be seen in the story of Gideon who trusted in the Lord fully when called upon to rescue Israel from yet another bondage. His is one of the most intriguing and faith promoting stories of the Old Testament. Gideon started off with 32,000 soldiers in his army which was required to defeat a Midianite army of 130,000 (Judges 8:10). This suggests odds of 4-1. This alone would have sent fear through Gideon but things got worse. By a process of elimination the Lord reduced this army to 300, which made it odds of 450 to 1 (Ted Gibbons, OT Lesson 19, "The Reign of the Judges). What did the Lord intent to do with an army of 300 against 130,000? He showed the Israelites that with God all things are possible, that He is the only god that can be trusted and that possesses power and might but Israel was hard of heart and did not stay on the right track. This mistake led them into bondage to the Philistines for forty years (Judges 13:1). The Book of Judges is one of the most fascinating books in the Old Testament. The story of Gideon is found in chapters 7 and 8 and is similar to the taking of Jericho.

Turning to the false gods of Canaan, the Israelites  destroyed the spiritual and moral fibre of their nation. "Based on the fertility cults led by the god Baal, the Canaanite religion was an extraordinarily immoral form of paganism, including....prostitution, homosexuality, and other orgiastic rites" (Old Testament Student Manual, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, p.252). Salvation comes only in one way, through Jesus Christ, the Jehovah of the Old Testament. Worshiping other gods replaces that belief and suggests that salvation can come through other means: "A person's god is the thing or being in which he trusts and which he believes has the greatest power.  It is the thing to which he looks for whatever salvation he believes is available. The Lord has made it clear in all ages that whenever men place their full trust in such things as other men, nations, treaties, treasuries, precious minerals, armies or armaments, their actions are a form of idolatry because such actions reveal a lack of trust in Jehovah. To be totally free of idolatry one must put complete trust in the true God" (Old Testament Student Manual, p.247,245). 

All of Israel's downfall could have been avoided had the parents walked up to their responsibility of being true guardians of their children's happiness. What can we take from this? We can ask ourselves if the spiritual fiber of our family is intact. Are our homes spiritual havens for our children? Are they places where the spirit can dwell and strengthen those who are in our care? Are we worshiping false gods and inadvertently passing on this false worship to our children? Are we showing our children that the one true, living God is the only one to be trusted? When we truly grasp the idea of trusting God we can understand why the Lord would issue an edict to ancient Israel to destroy all the people and their possessions in an idolatrous city. God did not want them to believe that this land of plenty cultivated by idol worshippers was their source of sustenance: "Not to destroy their goods would be to demonstrate a lack of faith that the Lord would provide. Similarly, if a Latter-day Saint will not tithe, is it not because he centers his trust in worldly things and the system that produces them instead of the providence of the Lord? In that sense, then, the things of the world become a god to him, for he trusts more in them than in God's power. Those who do not pay tithing would likely be shocked to think they were guilty of idolatry just as the ancient Israelites were guilty of idolatry. The form differs, but the sin is the same." (Old Testament Student Manual p. 247). Money is a system of the world. When you lack faith to pay tithing, you are inadvertently having faith in your money instead. Having faith in money therefore, means having faith in the world to provide for you instead of God, the true source of all abundance.

The other side of the coin of being guardians of happiness are children who, despite their righteous parents, squander their free agency. The perfect example of this is Samson, one of the judges in the time period under discussion. A judge during this generally apostate period of Israelite's history was more of a military hero who gave advice and rendered decisions rather than an officer of the judiciary. Samson, born of a barren woman in the tribe of Dan, had the potential to be one of the greatest leaders in Israel since Joshua. Foreordained and chosen by the Lord to be a Nazarite who would conquer Philistines and end Israel's 40 year bondage, his birth announced by an angel (Judges 13:4,5), Samson fell into the chosen category with Isaac, John the Baptist and Jesus himself. In Numbers 6 we learn that a Nazarite was someone who was separate (vss. 2,3,4,5), consecrated (vs 7) and holy (vss. 5,8). It was a covenant entered into with the Lord. A Nazarite could also never cut his hair for the length of his hair was indicative of the length of the vow (Ted Gibbons, OT Lesson #19). Samson was born with tremendous gifts, one of them being a gift of incredible strength. His courageous feats include slaying a young lion with his bare hands (Judges 14), killing 1,000 Philistines with jawbone of an ass (Judges 15), ripping away the doors and posts of Gaza's gate and carrying them 40 miles to Hebron and bringing down the temple of Philistines' god Dagon killing himself and 3000 Philistines (Judges 16). Samson had massive potential but his is a story of self-indulgence, immorality, selfish seeking for revenge and violation of the covenant. Instead of conquering Philistines, he repeatedly joined them and even married one of them. In twenty years of adulthood, Samson never attempted to organize the forces of Israel for their liberation thus failing miserably in fulfilling his life's calling (Judges 13:5).  His life ended up being one of the great tragedies of history. 

Short of physical death, there is no greater pain for a faithful parent than that of a spiritually wayward child. A parent who is on the path to eternal life feels keenly the responsibility of being the guardian of their child's happiness. Someone who is convinced that the ultimate happiness means salvation in God's kingdom wants the same for their offspring. Usually when that offspring rebels, the root of that pain is twofold: 1. the parents personalize the child's bad choices and blame themselves for their parenting skills or lack thereof; and 2. the fear that this child will be eternally lost becomes excruciating. It would not be hard to imagine what Samson's parents went through watching him trade his divine destiny for a 'mass of pottage'. No doubt they wondered where they had gone wrong. Letting go of control and respecting your children's agency to choose for themselves can be the hardest thing asked of parents. It is however, the greatest lesson one can learn and grow to accept, for the plan of salvation itself is based on this principle. Without it there is no growth into godhood. God the Father would give us everything He has, but He cannot give us who He is, that we have to earn for ourselves. Let go we must in our parenting, believing we have done what we could do and entrusting our children's salvation into their care, for the Father has done the same. Having made our salvation our responsibility He watches with great interest as the seeds of godhood take root and we grow into gods we are destined to be. And like a perfect parent, He has not left us alone. Always watchful, always caring and always forgiving and all this made possible because of His Son who died to save us all. May we never find the mass of pottage more enticing than the vow we had made to inherit all the Father has and may we be brought together at the last day to receive that inheritance.